Identifying scams, using a Tiny Hardware Firewall for safer browsing on public Wi-Fi, finding a beginner's DSLR camera, why does Apple Pay Cash need your SSN to sign up? The Faroe Islands' brilliant translate service, accessing the traditional control panel in Windows 10, an audio-based pet monitor system and more of your calls.

Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Joe wants to know about the Tiny Hardware Firewall. Leo says it's a clever solution for those who want to use open Wi-Fi hotspots safely. Tiny Hardware Firewall will give him an additional layer of protection by encrypting all of his Wi-Fi traffic with a virtual private network. Leo adds that it also adds another layer called the Black Hole Cloud service which gives users their own cloud server. This makes it lightning fast. The Tiny Hardware Firewall is about $35, plus a fee for their VPN, which could be about $100 a year. Are there alternatives? Leo says that TunnelBear is a very good service because they don't log activity. It's completely anonymous.

George has a teenage daughter who wants a camera to take pictures with. He doesn't really want to give her a DSLR yet, but he doesn't want to get a cheap point and shoot either. He wants something she can use, grow with, and enjoy with him since he shoots with a Nikon. Leo says that the Nikon D3400 is a great option because it's only $500 and it would use the same lenses as his. Then, when he's ready to upgrade, he can pass down his current Nikon to her and they can share the lenses. There would be a crop factor since the D3400 is APS-C, but it's doable.

Leo also likes Olympus Micro 4/3s standard. The OM-D series is fantastic. They're lighter and smaller, but take great pictures.

Doctor Bird is a professional photographer and he recommends Canon because it's just easier to use. He recommends the Canon T6i Rebel Starter Kit at Costco. It's the best entry level out there, at under $500.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

George wanted to use Square Cash to send friends cash, but it requires his social security number. That's not a great idea and Leo says to refuse giving that out everywhere. Technically, they're not supposed to ask for that, but everyone does. So he should just say no. Leo suggests Venmo. There's also Cash.me. Banks use Zelle. Leo wishes that pay services would just go open crypto, like BitCoin does. You keep the private key, but give away the public key.

Ivan wants to know what he's giving away when he logs into a site using his Facebook ID. Leo says that's called Single Sign-on, which makes it easier to sign in. Many services, including Google and Twitter also offer it as a convenience. It's a user verification system that doesn't require him to create an account, nor does it give them access to his account. But it gives Facebook, Google, and Twitter access to more information about where he visits. It's safe to use it, but if he's concerned, he can create a dummy account that he'll only use for that purpose.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Aaron wants to know about Windows' Advanced Settings that he can access via Windows Key + X. He's noticed it gives access to Control Panel and Leo says it has several settings to add and take away different features. But Aaron says the recent Windows 10 Creator's Update now puts his PC to sleep after a minute or two. How can find it in the new Control Panel? Leo says to look under the Power and Sleep settings. He went there and set it to 2 hours, but it still goes to sleep after a minute.

Looking in additional power settings, he sees the old power options Control Panel. Could it be there? Leo says that's what bugs him about Microsoft now, they have two versions of everything. It can be annoying and confusing. But Aaron should look in there and set it. Maybe that duality is causing the computer to default to the lower setting.

Craig has a 15" laptop and he travels a lot, so he's looking for a smaller alternative. He's getting the Pixel 2 XL this week and the Pixelbook is another option. Chromebooks are a good option for travel because they are light, secure, and with the new Android app support, there's a myriad options including Microsoft Word on Android. A better option than Windows for most people.

Doctor Bird is a professional photographer and he recommends Canon because it's just easier to use for a beginning photographer. He recommends the Canon T6i Rebel Starter Kit. It's the best entry level out there, and very simple to use.

Tristen's mother wants to get a camera that she can put outside to see if her dog is barking while she's gone. Leo says that Nest cam is a good option. There's also Lighthouse, which has notifications when it detects certain activity.

This Week in Tech News

Sending unsolicited text messages is bad form, and Facebook got caught using their 2 Factor Authentication database to send out ads and other notifications.

Facebook admitted their faux pas and apologized. Leo says that's become the modus operandi of Facebook: move fast and break things, then apologize. In other words, better to ask forgiveness than ask permission.

Samsung has been quite vocal about its plans to build a smartphone with a foldable screen in it, and we could see that next year with the Galaxy Note. On the front it will look like a regular smartphone, but then you'll be able to open it up to a 6 or 7" tablet. That will likely cost a lot more, and Samsung has already said it will be raising the price of the next Galaxy S phone, starting at around $850.

Leo got his Apple HomePod this week and he says it's a device that suffers from an identity crisis. Apple isn't selling it as a home assistant like the Echo or Google Assistant, even though it has Siri on it. It's limited in its ability to play music, though. It's slightly better than the first generation Sonos, but not as good as a bonafide stereo system. It's just an expensive speaker for Apple Music via Airplay. It doesn't even work with Bluetooth. If you're not drinking that Kool-aid, there's no sense in buying one.

Leo says that the Space X Falcon Heavy rocket launch, with two boosters automatically landing afterwards, was a triumph of engineering (even though one crashed in the ocean). The fun part was using Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster as ballast with a mannequin dressed in a spacesuit, playing Bowie's Space Oddity on the stereo. What a great test, and the PR stunt of the century for Tesla, with hundreds of thousands watching the live stream of StarMan orbiting the earth before heading off to Mars. Doesn't get much better than that with PR.

The day before the Super Bowl is the biggest TV buying day of the year — even bigger than Black Friday. That's because it's also the end of the model year and they want to clear out the old models to make room for the new models. Leo says that there are some times you want to wait for the latest and greatest, but right now is not that time. LCD and OLED TVs are still dominant and will be for a few more years until MicroLEDs take hold. So if you were waiting, don't! If you have an HD TV and wonder if you should buy 4K, now is the time because of HDR 4K TVs. They have stunning color and dynamic range. Prices have come down to the point where there's no time like the present.